Improvement in cotton-gins



4 Sheets-Sheet 2. G. H. WEBB.

' COTTON GINS. N0.1 81,546. Patentd-Aug. 29,187.6.

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Ny PETERS, PHOTO.LITHDGRAPHER. WASHINGTON, D C.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3. Gl Hl COTTON GINS.

Patented Aug.. 29, 1876.

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4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

G. H. WEBB.

COTTON GINS.

Patented Aug. 29,1876.

UNITED SffrrriEsY NPE:IENfr" OFFICE;

GEORGE H.WEBB, OEv PAINTUCKET, RHODE ISLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN COTTON-GINS.

I Specification forming part of Letters PatentNo. 181,546, dated August 29, 1876; application filed March 4, 1876.

Y drawings furnished and forming a part of the same, is a true and complete description of my invention, and of a machine embodying the same.

My improvements relate to that general class of cotton-gms which are known as roller-gins,77 and to that particular class in which a reciprocating knife and a stationary knife are employed -in combination with a revolvf ing roll.

lhe main feature of my invention consists l 'in' the combination, with a stationary knife and a roller, of a reciprocating` knife constructed in parts or sections, and provided With actuating mechanism which alternately reciprocates the several parts or sections.

In knife and roller gins,v as heretofore constructed, reciprocating knives have been employed of a length equal to the length of the roll. The requisite rapid reciprocating motion of these knives induces great Wear of the working parts, and the machines are, therefore, short-lived, and readily get out of order.

By having the knife divided into parts or sections, the length of all the sections in the aggregate being equal to the length of the roll, and operating the sections alternately, I

am enabledy to secure an easier movement and less wear of the parts. Moreover, as each part or section of the knife is comparatively short, and provided with two strong arms, said part or section is less liable to spring, and thereby fail to properly operate in conjunction with the roll. v

My sectional knife 'is driven bya complex reciprocating rock-shaft, composed of a solid central shaft, and as many concentric hollow shafts or sleeves as there are knife-sections to be operated.,v

Inorder to fully balance the reciprocating knives, and to reduce the wear of the working Vparts to a minimum, and at the same time to economize in power, and increase the'working capacity of the machine, I duplicate my knives Aandroll, so that each portion of the j ,rock-shaft, at each -of its movements to and fro, causes a knife to operate With-one of the two rolls; and this combination` of duplicatedbalanced sectional knives, mounted upon vibra-ting arms, and asectional rock-shaft with two ginning-rolls constitutes another portion of my invention.

I 'am aware that in belt-gine, as heretofore constructed, vibrating knives have been y"operated lin vertical slides by means of slotted arms and a rock-shaft loca-ted centrally between the knives. It Will be seen thatmy sectional knives cannot be practically operated in such slides by means of slotted arms, because of the great speed at which my knives are vbrated, and also becausev ofthe necessity for having the ends of each-sectional knife closely adjacent to each other. Otherwise there wouldbe a clogging of the fiber and seed at those points.

My invention further consists in the combination, with one or more reciprocatingfknives and a stationary knife, of a roller mounted in adjustable journal-boxes, whereby the roll may be set not only with relation to the stationary knife, but also with relationk to the reciprocat- 4ing knife or knives.

I am aware that m gms which embody either revolving knives or revolving beaters, for cooperating directly with the roll, said rolllias -been mounted so as to be adjustable with re- Y lation tol the stationary knife only, and I therefore do not broadly claim as of my in 'vention an adjustable roller in a knife-gin.

Another portion of my invention consists in the combination, with suitable roller ginning mechanism', of two or more toothed openers, 011e of which receives the cotton from the feeding-platform, passes lit to the next opener, and thence to other openers, or direct to the ginning mechanism, 1

I am well aware that in roller-gins,as heretofore constructed, the cotton has been passed from the feeding-platform through feeding,- rolls, and from thence thrown to the ginning mechanism by a revolving toothed drum'or roll. rIhe opening effect sought jby me is not attained with such a combination of mechanism,forthe toothed drum lsimply throws the cotton `toward the ginning l-mechanismwitb the chute, as at c.

2 ISI,

out thoroughly opening the tufts as they exist Yin the cotton-boll. Thefeedingrolls in such gins cannot well be set so as to hold the tuf'ts against the action of the toothed drum without crushing the seed in the cotton, which would render the proper operation of the ginning mechanism practicaliyimpossible.

To more particularly describe my invention I will refer to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l, Sheet l, represents a complete machine in top view. Fig. 2, Sheet 2, represents the same machine in side elevation, viewed from the left hand, Fig. l. Fig. 3, Sheet 2, represents a journal-box oi one-of the ginningrolls. Fig. 4, Sheet 3, represents the machine in side elevation, viewed from the right hand, Fig. l. Fig. 5, Sheet 4, represents the machine in central longitudinal vertical section. Fig. 6, .-Sheet 4, represents, in longitudinal section, the complex rock-shaft which operates the reciprocating beaters. Figs. 7 and 8, Sheet 4, represent in side view the levers an d links which operate the complex rock-shaft.

A denotes one offtwo side with tiebolts a and end pieces, constitute the main frame of the machine. The frame shown is adapted for a double-rollermachine having stationary and reciprocating knives in duplicate. In this instance the frame is shown in a desirable form, having four legs, (two on each side plate,) and having an outline and area designed to accommodate the requisite shafting and other mechanism.

B denotes the main driving shaft, provided with tight and loose pulleys, as shown in Fig. 1. In this double machine a second shaft, at B', is also employed as a driver, the two being geared together by the crossed belt b.

O and C' denote the ginning-rolls, which `are revolved in opposite directions. D and D' denote revolving fan-doffers, located below the ginning-rolls, and harranged to free them from the cotton as fast as it is ginned. v The doffers rapidly revolve toward each other, and deliver the cotton downward, driving it forcibly out of A web, as at d, extends from one side plate to the other, and constitutes an inclosing'ch amber, having an interior outline adapted to aid the doffers in driving a' blastthrough the chute, the incoming air being drawn through the several openings in the side plates, as shown at e.

E denotes in each instance one of four openers. Two of them are located at each endv of the machine. These openers are rolls provided with large, stron g, blunt, well-rounded ,sm ooth teeth, asat f, coarsely set, and so arranged longitudinally in the rolls that those in one opener cannot engage with those in the other. The two openers nearest the ends of the machine operate in conjunction with stationary teeth, as at g, of a similar character to those -in the openers. These stationary teeth are attached to the frame of the machine, and are 'arrangedverticallyin one row andhorizontally plates, which,

in the other, as clearly shown in Fig. `5,`"at each end ofthe machine.

E' in each instance denotes one of two feeding-platforms with flanged sides. An opening a't the foot of the table, as ath, communicates d'. The opener-chamber hasan extension projecting toward the ginning knives and` roller, and this extended portion constitutes a trunk through which the cotton is thrown to the gin-` ning mechanism.

F denotes a revolving crank-shaft, by which the reciprocating knives are actuated, as will hereafter he described.

I have thus far designated all the revolving portions of the machine. Each pair ot'` openers E revolve in the same direction, and toward their respective ends of the machine. They are driven by belting from the two shafts B and B', as shownin Fig. 4. The shaft B also drives the ginning-roll C and the shaft F, which actuates the reciprocating knives. The two. doi'ers are driven by a belt from the shaft 2, Sheets l and 2.

in detail in Fig. 3, Sheet 2) are arranged to slide longitudinally. Each box is mounted on a slotted bed, as at i, which is bolted to the frame of the machine. A holding or set screw, as at k, passes upward through this slot into the lower half of the box, and `anadjustingscrew, as at l, provided with collars, occupies au open vertical slot at onel end of the bed i, by means of which the box may be moved toward the center ofthe machine, thus moving the roll to any required position with relation to its respective knives.

G and G' denote the stationary knives. Each. is secured rigidly at its ends to the side plates, and has its knife-edge closely adjacent to the periphery of its respective ginning-roll, and is located with its edge a little below the plane of the axis ofthe roll. The bevel of the knife-edge is inclined downward from the face of the roll.

I have now to describe the reciprocating reciprocating knife is shownatH. Each is divided, inthis instance, into three sections, as at m, n, and 0. third the length of a ginning-roll. The duplicate sections are connected by arms, as at p, each of which'is provided with a hub, as at q.

tion, and, for knives in three sections, is composed of the main shaft r, to which the duplicate central knife-sections n are attached; the sleeve s, to which the o are attached; and the sleeve t, to which the duplicate sections lml are attached.

The main rock-shaft and both sleeves are connected with the revolving crankshaft F as follows: main rockshaft by means of lever r' and link r"; sleeve t by lever t' and link t" and sleeve s by lever s' and link s". l

, It is-to `be understood that these knifegsecwith the opener-chamber formed by the casing B', all of which is clearly shown in Figs. l and' Ihejournal-boxes ofthe ginning-rolls (shown knives and their peculiar construction. Each Each section is about one- The rocksshaft at I is complex in its construcduplicate sections tions are so set on the sleeves and on the main rock-shaft, and that their levers, links, and cranks are so arranged, that no two sections of either knife can move together upon the carried by them past the horizontal and vertical ingers g, which contribute to the opening process. The second opener takes the cotton from the fingers of the first one, and, throwing it through the trunk, delivers it in front of and in contact with its respective stationary knife, roller, and reciprocating knife. The ginning-roller surface adjacent to the knives moves upward, and carries with it the fiber and the seed attached thereto, until the in its descent upon the reciprocating knife,

knife, de-

beveled surface of the stationary taches the seed from the ber.

As long as the seed has fiber of any valuable length attached, the roller maintains control over it; but, when thoroughly cleaned, the seed falls free upon the incline at u., and drops beneath the machine.

ltis to be understood that the ginning-rolls may be made in accordance with any of the methods heretofore employed in the construction of rolls for use with knives in cotton-gins.

It is well known that roller-gins are capable of operating with less injury to the .staple than the saw-gins, which have long been and are now in general use; but the limited working capacity of roller-gins, as vheretofore constructed, has served as a barto their general adoption. l

It is clear that the capacity of a reciprocating-knife and roller gin depends upon the rapidity with which the knives are reciprocated. As heretofore constructed, the knives being in one length and unbalanced, their rapid movement must obviously result in constant shocks and jars to the machine. One portion of my improvement, which consists in balancing one knife by another, materially lessens this shock and jar, and this result is attained whether or not the knives are made in sections, asshown. Added to this advantage, I have an increased capacity in the machine without a proportionate increase of power expended, for the termination ofthe upward movement of one knife ononevside of the rock-shaft is rendered easy by the termination of the downward movement of the knife on the opposite side of the shaft, which,while moving downward,is meantime performing its work. By having each knife constructed'in sections, as shown, and operated separately, the shock and jar to the working parts is reduced to a minimum.

Having thus described my invention, Iclaim as new, to be secured by Letters Patent- 1. The combination,with a ginning-roll and a stationary knife, of a reciprocating knife, constructed in two or more lengths or sections, and mechanism for independently-reciprocating each knife-section, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a pair of ginningrolls and two stationary knives, of two balanced reciprocating sectional knives, mounted on arms which project from opposite sides of a complex rock-shaft, and mechanism for reciprocating said balanced knives, and causing them alternately to co-operate with their respective stationary knives and ginning-rolls, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a reciprocating knife and a stationary knife, of a ginning-roll, mounted in sliding journal -boXes provided with adjusting and holding devices, substantially as described, whereby the ginning -roll may he moved to or from both the reciprocating and stationary knives, and firmly set in any desired position, for the purpose specified.

4. The combination, withv roller-ginning mechanism, of a feeding-platform, stationary teeth, and two or more revolving toothed openers, arranged to operate in connection with the stationary teeth, and with each other, for opening the cotton, and located with reference to the ginning mechanism and to a communieating trunk or chamber, substantially as described, whereby the cotton, when opened, is

delivered continuously'to the ginning mechanism, as set forth.

GEORGE H. WEBB. Witnesses:

WM. H. HAsKELL, Jr., E. S. BINFORD. 

